The MyKey technology Ford unveiled this week will likely give parents some peace of mind when the kids are driving the family car. After all, it’s a big limiter in a little package.

Scheduled for release in the 2010 model year, the software can be programmed to limit the car’s top speed to 80 mph, limit the volume of the audio system to 44 percent of its total and shut down the speakers if the seat belts are not fastened.

But there are some very important things it won’t do:

Keep young drivers from speeding.

Make them better, more responsible drivers.

Keep them out of trouble.

These are accomplished by good parenting, not technology. Still, MyKey is a positive automotive advancement.

“The potential benefit of this is it extends the parental supervision period, even though the parent is not present in the vehicle,” said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The MyKey technology will be standard on the 2010 Focus, with other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models to follow. As many as eight keys can be programmed per car. But if parents don’t want their drive limited by the technology, they can use an unprogrammed key.

Tom Miller, Ford’s lead development engineer on the project, said the system can be easily programmed through the car’s information center. Parents can also determine whether their children have tampered with the system.

But they won’t have any information about their childrens’ driving habits.

“It’s not a `big brother’ system,” he said. “We’re not going to provide any feedback to mom and dad.” The system also features speed alert chimes at 45, 55 and 65 mph, which Ford says can be used to teach teens more fuel-efficient driving habits. For example, driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph consumes 15 percent less fuel, the company said. Avoiding jackrabbit starts and excessive idling can help improve fuel economy by more than 50 percent.

“We see MyKey and other technological advances as holding much promise to reduce teen deaths. We haven’t seen much success at addressing the speed issue with traditional approaches, so we are excited for this technology,” said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.

Ford contracted with Harris Interactive to conduct a survey of parents and found that 75 percent of respondents liked the speed-limiting feature, 72 percent liked the more insistent safety-belt reminder and 63 percent favored the audio-limiting feature.

And about half of those who would consider purchasing a MyKey vehicle said they would allow their children to use the family car more often if it were equipped with the technology.

Rader at the safety institute said there is a lot of technology being developed that will give parents more information about what their children are doing behind the wheel. That can make them safer drivers. But can it change bad habits?